Statue group
A group of statues consists of several individual statues . Such an ensemble of statues, for example in the case of a monument, increases its importance as a memorial place in comparison to a single figurative statuary. The main purpose of the group of statues is usually symbolic representation .
A distinction must be made between a sculptural group of statues and a group of statues belonging to the architecture. Sculptural groups of statues already existed in ancient Egypt , probably even earlier.
A famous example of a sculptural group of statues is Hermes of Olympia . However, here the Hermes is the dominant one, who also holds the little Dionysus boy in his arms.
Groups of statues in the sculpture can be found in Doric architecture on the gables of temples from the Archaic era . As an example, one can cite the group of statues of the gable groups in the Glyptothek of Munich, known in archeology as the Aiginetes from the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina . The group of statues depicting the murderers of tyrants Harmodios and Aristogeiton is the first public monument to be mentioned in Athens . It has been handed down in numerous Roman copies .
As an example of a group of statues of modern memorial art, the group in front of the bell tower in Buchenwald near Weimar by Fritz Cremer (see illustration) deserves mention.
Statues and groups of statues do not always have a memorial function as publicly visible works of art. For example, in new development areas, they can be used to beautify the residential area without any such purpose being associated with it. Your task is then purely aesthetic . On the one hand they serve to improve the general quality of living, mostly in densely built-up areas. On the other hand, they can be design elements in parks, which in turn improve people's general quality of life .
A special form of the group of statues is the quadriga or troika .